1 . It was a sunny weekend. I had planned to go mountain climbing in the suburbs with Daniel. However, a sudden heavy rain that morning disrupted my plan. Looking out of the window, I couldn’t help feeling a little ________ as the rain poured down.

However, Daniel ________ , “Since we can’t go mountain climbing, why don’t we go to an old ________ in the city? I heard there are many interesting shops and delicious food there.” I thought it was a good idea and _________. We braved the heavy rain and arrived at the old neighborhood. Although the sky was still ________ , the old buildings and unique atmosphere of the neighborhood attracted us.

We walked through the narrow streets and admired the ________ shops on both sides. A retro-style coffee shop caught our attention and we decided to go in and rest. In the coffee shop, we tasted the delicious coffee and talked about our daily lives. ________ , a strange figure walked into the coffee shop. He looked ________ and lost. His eyes fell on us casually and seemed to be looking for something. Out of ________ , we took the ________ to talk to him. It turned out that he was a photographer and he had just lost an important memory card which contained his works of many years. He had been searching for it in the neighborhood for a long time, but still couldn’t find it.

After hearing ________ his troubles, we decided to help him search for it. We searched around the neighborhood and asked many people, but couldn’t find the memory card. Just when we were about to give up, a little kid ________ to us with a memory card and said he had found it by the roadside. We excitedly took the memory card and after checking it was ________ , we gave it back to the photographer. The photographer looked at us gratefully with tears in his eyes. He said, “Thank you very much. This memory card means a lot to me.” We felt happy that we could help him and it added more meaning ________ this unexpected trip.

This experience made me realize that life always has unexpected surprises and twists. Sometimes, ________ your plan is not a bad thing and it may bring you a more wonderful experience.

2 . As I walked onto the soccer field I had a knot(结) in my stomach. I was too shy to _________ the year before but decided to go for it this year.

When the coaches came, I felt as if I was going to pass out. With no _________ ability I began to wonder why I was _________ here. Everyone immediately took a ball and began to _________. I stood there, not knowing what to do. My friends came over to _________ me a few quick moves and drills. I had fun and _________ enjoyed playing. Every other girl on the team was far more skilled than I. The moment I _________ that to myself, I was fine.

This _________ has stuck with me all through high school. Without _________ it, I learned a valuable lesson about myself. __________ I tried out for the soccer team, I always wanted to be __________ at everything. Previously(以前), I would do anything to achieve the high __________ I set for myself. I was so stressed out over schoolwork that I never had fun. I decided it was time for a (n) __________.

Like most high school students, my __________ with more responsibilities and worries, began to change as I got older. Balancing school and sports has not been easy. But through it all, I have become a __________ person. No longer do I __________ that I have to be perfect. Although my athletic ability doesn’t __________ a ticket to universities, I have other good __________ that make me important. Knowing that I have put 100% __________ into everything I do and am honest with myself, I am completely __________ with the person I am.

3 . My mother turned ninety. I knew I needed to find a senior _______ center. Not for her — for me. If I were at her age, I would want to stay in shape to _______ life, getting a lot of pleasure. Yes, walking in local parks was my _______, but I wasn’t so active as before.

I called a nearby center, “Do you have aerobics (有氧运动) classes _______ for seniors?” “Sure. Come and check us out! We start at 10 am,” the receptionist (接待员) replied and _______. The next morning, I went there. One part of me was _______ that the class was too easy, not doing me any good. The other part feared it was too hard for me to _______.

When I came into the room, a woman _______ me, “Oh, you’re new. Welcome.” Then the music started. The hour-long workout woke up the muscles I didn’t often _______ in daily walks, suiting me fine. I became a member there. My classmates ranged in age from fifty to ninety. Most gave the exercises their own ________, doing as much or little as they could. ________ no one kept score. Soon I learned physical well-being wasn’t the only ________ there. During breaks, people chatted happily. Whenever some people were ________ we asked around. Were they busy? Were they in hospital? Moreover, we signed cards for those who were ill.

I ________ to be in good shape now as I’ve hoped. Still, I’m grateful for things more valuable from the class — close friendships and new social ________.

4 . The biggest misconception that I've ever heard of is that in order for us to find success in anything, we must be willing to give up something else.    1    .

Over the years, I've come to realize that isn't true. As I grow, I find several things are truly stopping us from living a more fulfilling life. Below are some.

Place limitations on yourself

On the surface, limitations are the things that stop you from achieving something.    2    . You'll keep facing the same problems, forced to make the same choices, and perform the same actions repeatedly. They define your current circumstances and to that extent define your quality of life.

Lack self-control

We all have some aspect about ourselves that we don't like.    3    Maybe you have a large sweet tooth and can't help yourself from eating sweet things. When you have a lack of self-control, those habits are going to remain with you until you find some way to remove them.

    4    

Our ability to come up with creative solutions for our problems comes from our ability to learn and adapt. If you're not learning anything, you're not progressing. Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Learning never exhausts the mind." And I believe it.

Final thoughts

When you get stuck on something, you are never truly stuck    5    . You don't have to be working hard to overcome that barrier, rather change your thinking in how you're approaching the problem. Give it time and keep working at it.